[DML] Re: Dyno Testing Day

[William T Wilson <fluffy@xxxx>]

On Mon, 1 Nov 1999, Rich Kula wrote:

> Could someone describe exactly what Dyno Testing is? 

In a dyno test, your car is placed on rollers similar to those used at
many modern emissions testing facilities. The front wheels are locked
into place somehow and the rear wheels spin the rollers. The rollers are
a known weight. By entering in the gearing and tire size of your car and
measuring how quickly the rollers can be accelerated to a given speed, the
computer in the dyno can calculate the amount of horsepower produced by
the car.

The results of this type of dyno (a "chassis" dyno) measure the amount of
power at the wheels. Typically this is about 15% less than the engine
actually produces, due to drivetrain losses. The DeLorean's 130HP rating 
is engine horsepower, so a stock DeLorean in good condition would read
about 100-110 HP on a chassis dyno.

You can measure engine output directly with an engine dyno, however this
requires removing the engine from the car and so is much less common.